


The Bet

by KLStarre



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 15:45:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4354838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KLStarre/pseuds/KLStarre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don't die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Sexter fanfiction I ever wrote, and I wrote most of it on an airplane, so it's probably not very good. Takes place at some point during TDOTL.

                The three remaining Dead Men were about to split up. Both Vex and Saracen had protested, naturally, invoking the old rule, but, as Skulduggery had pointed out, there no longer was a Dead Men _to_ split up. There had been some muttered complaints about that, but they both knew that they had just been trying to pretend that what Ravel had done hadn’t happened, and Skulduggery wasn’t one for self-delusion.

            And eventually they had agreed to China’s plan to have them each lead a section of the Sanctuary’s forces in opposite directions to search for Darquesse, because, after all, what other plan did they have? She had been appearing in a different country nearly every day for the past month, slaughtering hundreds and burning everything to ashes, and by the time operatives had gotten to her, she would be gone.

            So now they were waiting in the Sanctuary’s, for want of a better word, throne room, where China had told them to meet her. For once in his life, Saracen was early, an accomplishment that Vex would have been proud of at any other time. But there was too much tension in the room, the three of them having nothing to say for the first time in hundreds of years. Things would have been different if they had still had all seven of them, or even the six that remained before Valkyrie joined, however briefly. But now they were going up against their biggest threat yet, and there were less than half of the Dead Men still alive.

            Not that it really made a difference, Skulduggery supposed. They were probably all going to die anyway.

            And Vex must have been thinking the same thing, for he stepped forward suddenly, away from Skulduggery so that he was facing Saracen, and said, simply, “Don’t die.”

            “I won’t,” Saracen said, at the same time as Skulduggery asked, “What about me?”

            “Shut up, Skulduggery,” Vex said, before turning back to look at Saracen. “I mean it,” he said. “Don’t.” And then, as if he had to do it quickly or he would lose his nerve, he leaned forward and kissed him. For a moment Saracen just stood there, frozen, and it looked like Vex was going to pull away. But then he relaxed, wrapping his arms around the taller man.

            Vex followed suit and they held each other, still kissing long and hard, making up for nearly 300 years of hiding even from themselves and Skulduggery was just starting to get uncomfortable when they broke apart, grinning. But Saracen’s left hand was still intertwined with Vex’s right, and the strength with which they gripped each other belied the smiles on their faces.

            Saracen, still looking at Vex, tapped his nose with his free hand and said, a laugh in his voice, “I knew you were going to do that.”

            Vex sighed and let out an exasperated sigh as Skulduggery shook his head. “What?” Vex asked, his tone right on the edge of becoming hostile.

            “It’s about time,” he said dryly.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Please. Ghastly and I had had a bet on for nearly a hundred years about how long it’d take the two of you. I seem to have won.”

            Vex laughed and Saracen glared and was just about to respond when the door opened and China Sorrows swept in, managing to look resplendent even in her Elder’s Robes. Vex and Saracen jumped apart when her gaze fell upon them, but she just laughed, waving a hand. “Don’t bother.” And then, looking at Skulduggery, “How much do I owe you?”

            He waved her off. “It’s fine. Betting that it would take some horrifyingly life-threatening experience was cheating anyway.”

            At this point Vex was laughing uncontrollably, but Saracen was less amused, his arms folded and glaring at Skulduggery. “ _She_ was in on it, too? What, was the whole war just a giant fight over when we would get together?”

            Vex had recovered enough by the time Saracen finished talking to reply in Skulduggery’s stead. “Just the end bit.”

            Saracen turned his glare to Vex, but there was a smile in his eyes now, and Vex, laughing again, retreated, hands held above his head.

            _“_ Seriously, though,” Saracen said, redirecting his attention to Skulduggery and China, “How many people were in on this?”

            China looked at Skulduggery, who shrugged. “A few. Me, Ghastly, Erskine-“

            “Bastard.” Vex interjected, dropping his hands as Skulduggery continued.

            “China, Val, Larrikin for a while, Shudder.”

            “No way,” Saracen said, ad Skulduggery deactivated the façade just to raise an eyebrow, before deactivating it.

            “What?” he asked.

            “ _Anton_ Shudder?”

            “Unless you know another one. As I said, it’s about time.”


End file.
